Prime Ministers, and the constitutional role of the Norwegian Monarch


If you have answers, please help by responding to the unanswered posts.
King Olav V's eighth Prime Minister, Kåre Willoch (from the Conservative Party), turned 90 on Wednesday.

He was PM from 1981 to 1986. - Read his English Wikipedia profile here (especially the ''After retirement from national politics'' part).

About him: Well, after he stepped down as county-governor of Oslo and Akershus in 1998, he went from being regarded as a ''very conservative, cold and strict politician'' to become ''Hele Norges Kåre Willoch'' (''The Whole of Norway's Kåre Willoch'').
Although widely criticized for his STRONG support for the palestinians and his controversial remarks about Israel, he has been praised for his work for low-income people, the weak in society in general - and the rights for people with Down's syndrome (due to his grandson, Philip, who suffers from it).
And despite the fact that cancer was discovered in 2016, he remains in remarkably good health, which is (according to himself) due to his equally healthy and vigorous 89-year-old wife of 64 years, Anne Marie, ''being a former nurse.'' - And he still travels around the country with his EXTREMELY posh, old-fashioned and distinctive Oslo-West-End dialect, giving lectures, writing books, giving television/newspaper-interviews and participating in debates.
He is described by some in the media as ''Norges fremste orakel'' (''Norway's foremost oracle'') due to his immense intellect, and is therefore used as a royal/political expert/commentator on everything from royal celebrations (the latest one being The Regent-Couple's Golden Wedding Anniversary in August) to terrorist attacks, climate change, political issues in Norway and a range of other countries - and ''of course'' Trump.

And as Harald Stanghelle, the outgoing editor of the Liberal conservative Newspaper Aftenposten, writes in the article below: ''When Kåre Willoch left the Storting after 32 years in 1989, it became the start of the most unexpected political one-man show in Norwegian history."
REALLY worth a read for everyone who speaks Scandinavian languages, especially the ''Folkelig kjærlighet'' (''folksy love'') part. - And I hope the English speaking majority here get something out of the google-translation: 90-åringen Kåre Willoch er noe så selvmotsigende som en folkekjær ener | Jubilanten er et unikt nasjonalt fenomen. - Aftenposten - translation.

Well, I'm not done, because we have to talk a bit about his stance on the monarchy as well: He is known as a STRONG monarchist, and there's been more than one republican who's been TOLD OFF (I mean literally, because he's by no means a diplomat, far from it actually). - And he was also among the very few in the Storting/Government who were positive to a wedding betwen CP Harald & Sonja Haraldsen in the 1960s, but as the youngest member of the government (Minister of Trade from 1965 to 1970), he didn't ''dare to go against the older ministers.''
He was also a vocal supporter of the relationship between CP Haakon & Mette-Marit Tjessem Høiby - and attacked the media for the way they treated her (MM, I mean).

Here are two photos of him with his grandson, Philip (he, I mentioned above) - and his wife, Anne Marie (who's in the second one), which was both taken in November 2017: pic 1 - pic 2

And here's a short facebook video of them from the same year.

So, congratulations to Kåre (from me, a Labour supporter) who truly is as VG wrote the other day, ''uerstattelig for Norge'' (''irreplaceable for Norway''). - And he is, without doubt, my second favourite Norwegian person, a spot he shares with the late Thorvald Stoltenberg (which I wrote about in post 46) and the amazing Wenche Foss. My number one is the King of course (surprise, surprise).
 
Well, from Kåre Willoch (in the above post) to Norway's biggest political drama in years:

In March, I wrote that The Christian Democratic Party would probably join the government in September or October - and my reply to Muhler in post 30, who wondered why they would wait so long, was:
Well, for the Christian Democratic Party to join a government that the Progress Party is a part of, is a VERY BIG step for them to take, so they need time to debate it.
But I don't think they have that much choice. - Why?
1. If they continue to stand outside the government, they will be squeezed from both sides, which has been the case since the election in 2017 - and that have cost them some voters.
2. If they switch side politically, they will most likely be voted out of the Storting in 2021, since they are essentially losing voters to non-socialist parties (the government parties).
But in mid-September, several reliable political commentators with good sources said they'd heard that there are now ''betydelige sjanser'' (''significant chances'') that the party-leader, Knut Arild Hareide, will advise the party's National Board to switch side politically and go over to the socialist parties and the (centred) Center Party.
Well, that was quite a bombshell, even the commentators themselves were pretty shocked by it.

And if we take the facts from the March-quote above (which was still the case in September) into consideration, one must be allowed to wonder, why the heck would he do such a thing? Hmm???? Probably because he's part of the party-wing who can't even stand the thought of being part of a government with the (right-winged) populist Progress Party, which differs from the Christian Democratic Party in matters such as alcohol and foreign aid, etc.
And now, some of the other Scandinavians here will probably think, did that Royal Norway guy forget to mention ''immigration''? Of course not, but since the 3 largest parties in Norway (the Labour Party, the Conservative Party & the Progress Party) are now almost equally strict when it comes to this matter, it's therefor not so important for the smaller parties when it comes to whom (of them) they want to govern with.

Monday, September, 24th: Hareide came out with a book about politics, which was full of praise for the Labour Party and its leader, Jonas Gahr Store. - And that made the commentators even more sure, ''he wants to go over to the other side, he wants to go left,'' they said.

And right they were (the commentators, I mean), because when the party's National Board held a meeting on September, 28th, Knut Arild Hareide (in a speech) advised them to go over to the other side, where they could ''try to form a government with the Labour Party and the Center Party.''
Hmm???? That would not be easy. - Why? Because they would not have a majority in the Storting without the (Left-winged) Socialist Left Party, which is seen by some in the Christian Democratic Party as ''et enda større onde'' (''an even bigger evil'') than the Progress Party, mainly due to their Secularism.
So, then the question will be: Will the Socialist Left Party accept to be a support-party to such a government? Well, probably, yes! - And that's due to these two facts:
1. They would be what I will describe as the ''decisive body'' for the government when it comes to getting stuff through in the Storting.
2. If the Labour Party is turning too much ''centre'' to please the Christian Democratic Party, they will most likely lose a lot of voters to the Socialist Left Party (which, of course, will be very happy about it).

About the Christian Democratic Party's National Board: It counts 39 members, which consists of the party's 8 MPs, some Central Board members, several county-leaders and the leadership of the party's youth-organization.
What did they do with Hareide's advice? Well, even if they could have made the decision themselves (which would've led to a huge amount of criticism from others in the party and the media), they chose to call an extraordinary Party conference, which will take place on November 2nd (yes, today).
But if they had taken the decision themselves, what would the outcome have been? About 50/50 (very close, as the commentators said).

How did the party react in general?
Both the deputy-leaders, the parliamentary deputy-leader (all three of them MPs) and several of the party's most profiled politicians went against Hareide's advise.
Not that surprising, since they're all part of the wing, which sees the Christian Democratic Party as a non-socialist party, who ''accepts'' the Progress Party - and who wants to join the current government.
How did the party's youth league (KrFU) react?
1. They had in fact already had their own Party-conference earlier in September, where they voted 60/40 (and then I mean by percentage) in favor of joining the current government.
2. And the leader, Martine Tønnessen (who voted with the majority), has therefore said that the youth-party would work against Hareide's advice (although the minority has promised ''to go against the decision'' and support Hareide).

About the extraordinary Party-conference today: The MPs, the National/Central board members, and a whole bunch of local politicians (in form of delegates) will gather to make the decision.
What would the outcome be? Well, after several county-meetings, the party has locally chosen 190 delegates: 99 blue ones who want to join the current government and 90 read ones who want to go over to the other side, while one will vote blank.
A few of them want to be where they are now. I.e. as a support party to the current government, but have said what they would vote if they have to choose between blue and red, and are therefore included in the numbers above.
Which means that Hareide has lost, although it's very close - and the delegates is not bound, so some of them could change their mind.
Is that likely? Hmm, since it's a secret ballot, the answer to that is a BIG yes.
And like most commentators here, I would put Hareide winning-chances to about 50/50.

What will happen to the Christian Democratic Party if they switch side politically? Well, they will most likely be voted out of the Storting in 2021. - Why?
1. They are essentially losing voters to the Conservative Party & the Progress Party.
2. Prime Minister Erna Solberg (the leader of the Conservative Party) is hugely popular among their voters, while Jonas Gahr Støre (the leader of the Labour Party) is the complete opposite, although his poll-numbers have improved among their voters since Hareide gave his advice.
(As I've said before: Yes, I'm a Labour Supporter, but I have no trouble admitting the truth.)

And if they do (switch side, I mean), what will happen in the coming days?
1. They (together with the socialist parties and the Center Party) will most likely vote down ''Statsbudsjettet'' (''The State budget'') on November 27th, and the Prime Minister will respond with putting forward a ''kabinettspørsmål'' (''vote of confidence'') in the Storting Chamber, where she and her government will be voted down by the majority of the MPs.
2. Her people will then contact the court and ask them to inform the King that the Prime Minister has lost her parliamentary-majority for the government, and that he must talk to the leader of the largest party, or the leader of another party that is supported by a coalition with the greatest support in the Storting, which will be Jonas Gahr Støre (the leader of the Labour Party).
3. The court will then contact Støre and (on behalf of the King) ask him to try to form a government. - And when/if he succeeds, the current government would be called to an ordinary (which happens every Friday) or extraordinary session of the Council of State at the Royal Palace, where the King and the outgoing Government (who then automatically resigns) appoint the new Government, with effect from a specified point in time later in the day. The King will then sign a Royal Decree to this effect, and Jonas Gahr Støre will be HM's sixth Prime Minister.
4. The new government will then be called to an extraordinary session of the Council of State when that time occur, where they will decide on which minister is to head which ministry (which is already desided in advance).

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Read more about it in this article-series from Norway Today (click here).

And read more about the current government in the previous posts.

BTW: I will come with an update later today.
 
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Thanks, Royal Norway. :flowers:

So unless Hareide has read the ordinary party members right he will be "resigned" soon? And be replaced with someone who is in favor of supporting the government.
Should he win, the party under Hareide will trigger a vote of no confidence for the government as the inevitable consequence of not voting in favor of the finance bill.
A move that has a majority of the party top against it, and the reward for that will be... ??

That means a socialist government will be in power. As the political constellation is at present it will not be a center-left government, but a socialist government!
If it on top of that implements a policy that is more, shall we say, immigrant-friendly...

As I see it Hareide is toast!

If he wins today the political shift will be disastrous for the party, and he is toast.
If he loses today, he is toast.

Do you think the party will split? - And as such become insignificant.
 
Muhler, you're welcome! :flowers:

So unless Hareide has read the ordinary party members right he will be "resigned" soon? And be replaced with someone who is in favor of supporting the government.
He has already threatened with it in his speech this morning (surprise, surprise).
His ultimatum is: ''If you don't vote for me, then I'll resign.''
And if he loses, well, then he will be replaced with one of the two pro-current government deputies.

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Should he win, the party under Hareide will trigger a vote of no confidence for the government as the inevitable consequence of not voting in favor of the finance bill.
A move that has a majority of the party top against it, and the reward for that will be... ??
Almost like that, yes! They, together with the socialist parties and the Center Party, will most likely vote down The State budget in November. - And instead of trying to make changes in the budget, the Prime Minister will respond with putting forward a vote of confidence (where she will ask the MPs on whether they still support her government or nor), which differ a bit from a vote of no confidence.

The reward for that? Well, most likely political suicide for the whole party.

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That means a socialist government will be in power. As the political constellation is at present it will not be a center-left government, but a socialist government!
If it on top of that implements a policy that is more, shall we say, immigrant-friendly...
1. In Norway, we refers to the Labour Party and the Socialist Left Party as the socialist-parties; the Centre Party, the Christian Democratic Party and the Liberal Party as the centered-parties; while the Conservative Party and the Progress Party are refered to as the blue-parties (easier word for conservatives).
2. But it will be a centre-left government, since it will consist of the (centred-left) Labour Party, the (centred) Centre Party and the (centred) Christian Democratic Party. - But as I said above, such a givernment will have to rely on the left-winged Socialist Left Party.

Immigrant-friendly? Well, as I wrote in the above post: The 3 largest parties in Norway (the Labour Party, the Conservative Party & the Progress Party) are now almost equally strict when it comes to this matter, so I don't think that will change.

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Do you think the party will split? - And as such become insignificant.
NO, NO, NO, not at all! ?? - Because that will totally break it - and they're not in disagreement about policy, you know.

OML, the voting has started!
 
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I've been a bit busy the last two days, but let's go through the outcome on Friday and the happenings in the days ahead:

The outcome on Friday: Well, the blue-side (those who want to join the current government) won with 98 against 90 read delegates, while two voted blank.
However, hadn't it been for the fact that the blue-part of the party's county-meeting in Rogaland on October 20th (in contrast to the other county-meetings that chose their delegates representatively) used their majority to send 15 of 16 delegates. - And that one blue county-representative from Vestfold replaced a read one (who was ill) during their county-meeting on October 30th, Hareide had most likely won.

The happenings in the days ahead: Their negotiations with the government-parties about the budget will start this week, and I'm pretty sure they'll come to an agreement, having done so every year since 2013.
While the talks about joining the government, which will be led by the party's second deputy leader (and most likely next leader, if the commentators are right), the 33-year-old Kjell Ingolf Ropstad (MP since 2009), will begin in the coming days.
Will they succeed? Both blue and read sources within the party told TV2 yesterday that they were ''pretty sure that the talks will be successful and that they will join the Solberg-government, probably before christmas.''

And they will according to the media claim at least one of the two ''heaviest'' ministerial posts after the Prime Minister & Minister of Finance, when it comes to media attention, which will mean either the Minister of Health and Care Services (now with the Conservative Party) or the Minister of Justice, Public Security and Immigration (now with the Progress Party).
They will probably end up with 3 ministerial posts, which means they will be treated equally with the same-sized Liberal Party (both have 8 MPs in the Storting and about 4% of the electorate). - And I'm pretty sure the other parties are willing to go quite FAR in giving in to their wishes, especially if they want the government to last.

But if the negotiations were to fail, Knut Arild Hareide (who will resign when/if the new platform with the current government is ready) told NRK that ''he'll remain as leader and take the Christian Democratic Party into talks with the parties on the other side.''

And now to the winners and losers up in all this, and then I mean if the non-socialist parties succeed with the negotiations: Well, the opposition-parties will be further away from the government-offices than at any point since 2013, while the Christian Democratic Party, the Liberal Party and the Progress Party will have to GIVE A LOT to govern with each other.
So, are there any winners? Hmm, the answer to that is OH YES, and they're named ''Erna Solberg'' and ''the Conservative Party.''
And let's talk a bit about Erna Solberg, without getting political:
1. She's had a pretty bad year with sexual harassment scandals in her own party, several political issues, accusations that she has no control over the VERY outspoken ministers from the Progress Party (which IMO is the job of the leader of that party, Minister of Finance Siv Jensen, and had Solberg done something with it, they'd probably left her government in anger).
2. But she is whithout doubt the most popular Norwegian Prime Minister and party-leader (for the Conservative Party since 2004) in many years. - And she is referred to as ''Erna Stjerna'' (''Erna the Star'') within her own party and by some in the media.
(Yes, I'm a Labour Supporter, but I have no trouble admitting the truth, as I wrote in post 62.)
3. And now, her biggest wish has ''most likely'' been fulfilled, a majority government with all the non-socialist-parties, something she has been fighting for since 2006.

And when it comes to the Conservative Party: Well, they've given in to so many demands from the Christian Democratic Party, the Liberal Party and the Progress Party during the past 5 years, that they're now just BIG because they're BIG and is seen as a stable management-party - and therefore they continues to have good polls.

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If the negotiations succeeds and the Christian Democratic Party joins the current government, the King will be heavily involved, so I will write a post about it when it happens, most likely in December.

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BTW: Tatiana Maria, I hope this gave some answers to your question. :flowers:

And thanks for the articles, Muhler! :flowers:
 
I've been a bit busy the last two days, but let's go through the outcome on Friday and the happenings in the days ahead:

The outcome on Friday: Well, the blue-side (those who want to join the current government) won with 98 against 90 read delegates, while two voted blank.
However, hadn't it been for the fact that the blue-part of the party's county-meeting in Rogaland on October 20th (in contrast to the other county-meetings that chose their delegates representatively) used their majority to send 15 of 16 delegates. - And that one blue county-representative from Vestfold replaced a read one (who was ill) during their county-meeting on October 30th, Hareide had most likely won.

I appreciate the clarification. Then it was equivalent to a tie in which the luck of events impacted the final outcome. I suppose both sides were in agreement that the party was moribund if it kept its current position as a non-socialist opposition party.

And they will according to the media claim at least one of the two ''heaviest'' ministerial posts after the Prime Minister & Minister of Finance, when it comes to media attention, which will mean either the Minister of Health and Care Services (now with the Conservative Party) or the Minister of Justice, Public Security and Immigration (now with the Progress Party).
They will probably end up with 3 ministerial posts, which means they will be treated equally with the same-sized Liberal Party (both have 8 MPs in the Storting and about 4% of the electorate). - And I'm pretty sure the other parties are willing to go quite FAR in giving in to their wishes, especially if they want the government to last.

But in light of the the Christian Democrats' (blue part) even stronger immediate interest, it will be interesting to see which side goes further to conform to the other's wishes.

2. But she is whithout doubt the most popular Norwegian Prime Minister and party-leader (for the Conservative Party since 2004) in many years. - And she is referred to as ''Erna Stjerna'' (''Erna the Star'') within her own party and by some in the media.
(Yes, I'm a Labour Supporter, but I have no trouble admitting the truth, as I wrote in post 62.)

[...] If the negotiations succeeds and the Christian Democratic Party joins the current government, the King will be heavily involved, so I will write a post about it when it happens, most likely in December.

The objectivity is appreciated and I am looking forward to your posts about the new government and the king's involvement.
 
Oh, fiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiinaly, something is about to happen! - For those of you not familiar with the situation, read post 62 and 68 from November - and those in between by Muhler & Tatiana Maria.

I appreciate the clarification. Then it was equivalent to a tie in which the luck of events impacted the final outcome. I suppose both sides were in agreement that the party was moribund if it kept its current position as a non-socialist opposition party.
With the exception of a few ''yellow'' ones (who largely ended up on the blue-side), yes, that's correct.

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But in light of the the Christian Democrats' (blue part) even stronger immediate interest, it will be interesting to see which side goes further to conform to the other's wishes.
Well, The Christian Democratic Party has a very strong negotiating-card: ''Give us what we want, otherwise we'll switch side politically - and your government is done.''

What will that mean for the current government-parties?

For The Progress Party: With the exception of a few of their most populist MPs, they still want to continue in government. But there is no crisis for them if they were to return to the opposition, where they can go back to a more populist style and blame The Christian Democratic Party & The Liberal Party ''for blocking some of their most important policies/suggestions in government.''

For The Liberal Party: Although they still want to continue in government, it won't mean that much to them, and they'll ''most likely'' retain most of the few (core) voters they still have left.

For The Conservative Party: Well, they've everything to lose on it, and Erna Solberg and the rest of the party-leadership will be blamed within their own party and by the media for failing to keep the non-socialist parties together.
And therefore, they're willing to give almost everything (I mean EVERYTHING) to get The Christian Democratic Party on board.

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The objectivity is appreciated and I am looking forward to your posts about the new government and the king's involvement.
Thanks! :flowers:

But let's first talk about the happenings between November and now.

Now 20th: Agreement between the Government-parties and The Christian Democratic Party about the budget.
Although The Progress Party was ''pretty pissed off'' by the fact that The Christian Democratic Party supported a proposal put forward by the opposition in Storting-Chamber earlier in the day, which reversed some changes they made to ''taxfreekvoten'' (the tax-free quota) in 2014.
So, what happened? Well, 9 of their 27 MPs (and not just those who want to leave the government) refused to approve the budget-deal with the other parties during a meeting in the evening, but the party-majority decides, so it was hammered through. - And they were therefore forced to vote for it in the Chamber 2-weeks later (on December 3rd).
But as I said above, The Progress Party was pretty pissed off, and ''needed to think'' (a clear sign to The Christian Democratic Party that ''they too'' could be difficult).

Jan 2nd: The thinking was FINALLY over, and the negotiations about The Christian Democratic Party joining the government officially started.

So, when can we expect an agreement? Hmm, according to the media, most likely this week. - Which means I'll be back!
 
Been a bit busy, but here we go:

January 16th: The four party-leadership delegations agreed on a new government-platform (meaning, not just on taking The Christian Democratic Party into the government, but a whole new platform between the four parties).
And yes, the newest government-party really got what they wanted, including more money to children and families (such as an increase in child benefit, etc). - Although they had to give up getting the three other parties to support them in their controversial suggestion of removing paragraph 2c in the Norwegian Abortion Act, which says that ''after the end of the 12th pregnancy week, abortion may occur when there is a high risk that the child may be seriously ill, due to hereditary traits, illness or harmful effects during the pregnancy.''
However, and to strong opposition from the socialist opposition parties, women's rights organizations, the media and celebrities; they have managed to gain a victory by shelving the option to apply for foetal-reduction (removal of one or more foetuses in multiple-pregnancies) before the self-determination limit (12 weeks).
Be aware that most foetal-reduction are performed after the twelfth week anyway, due to the lower risk of complications. - But if one have applied before the limit, you've got it done (also) after week 12 without it being reviewed by an abortion board, which will no longer be possible.
(The proposal will be sent to The Storting for reviewing and voting this spring, before it will be signed off by The King in Council of State.)

January 17th: The four party-leadership delegations took the new platform to their respective party-organs, where it was unanimously approved by The Conservative Party and The Progress Party, approved overwhelmingly by The Liberal Party, while the red members of the National Board in The Christian Democratic Party stood firm - resulting in that as many as 17 (including party-leader, Hareide) voted no, against 19 who voted for. Which means that it was barely approved, but anyway, a majority is a majority!
BTW: I see no chance of a potential party-split, since both sides agree on the policy and think the platform was ''very good considering the small size of the party,'' it's just that they disagree on whether they should be governing with The Progress Party or not.

January 22nd: After The Prime Minister's office informed The Royal Court that there would be changes in the government, the PM and her then ministers were called to The Royal Palace where The Prime Minister had an extraordinary audience with The King, followed by an extraordinary Council of State where HM and the then government officially appointed the new ministers, while their predecessors (who left The Palace through a back entrance) were discharged. The King then signed a Royal Decree to this effect.
The new ministers (who first attended their first Council of State two days later, yes, on January 25th) had to wait in The Ministerial Drawing Room outside The Council Chamber before they walked out on The Palace Square along with the PM and their remaining colleagues to collect flowers and smile to the cameras, followed by a press conference at The Prime Minister's residence before they received the keys to their ministries - and gave interviews to the media.

The new ministers and changes in responsibilities for some ministries:

The Christian Democratic Party:

Kjell Ingolf Ropstad (born 1985), MP since 2009, the party's second deputy leader since 2017 and who is likely to be elected as new leader at the party conference in April: Succeeded Linda Cathrine Hofstad Helleland from The Conservative Party as Minister of Children, Equality and discrimination; posisjon changed to Minister of Children and Families with the added responsibility for religious and life-stance affairs which was taken from The Minister of Culture, Trine Skei Grande (MP and leader of The Liberal Party), while she was handed the equality and discrimination part.
You know, as the next leader of The Christian Democratic Party it doesn't harm to have the responsibility for the religious-stuff while at the same time having no responsibility for equality and discrimination, especially since the latter role have the responsibility for LGBT-rights, not something the ''arch-conservative'' Ropstad or his party is known fighting for.

Olaug Vervik Bollestad (born 1961), MP since 2013, the party's first deputy leader since 2015 and acting leader since January 17th 2019, when Knut Arild Hareide resigned: Succeeded Bård Hoksrud from The Progress Party as Minister of Agriculture and Food.
Very charismatic and had probably won if she had decided running for the leadership of the party.

Dag-Inge Ulstein (born 1980), local politician from Norway's second-largest city and municipality, Bergen, where he was byråd (minister of the city) responsible for social services, refugees and immigrants, mental health-care services and social inclusion and housing from 2013 to 2014 and responsible for finance, innovation and property management from 2015 to 2018: Succeeded Nikolai Astrup from The Conservative Party as Minister of International Development.
He is the only minister from the party's so-called ''red-side'' (which one can read more about in the above posts) and is known as a fierce critic of The Progress Party. And as most of you have probably figured out, yes, he was chosen in a bid to ''unify'' the party.

They have also been given several state secretaries (read about that position in English here, but be aware that the ''List of current State Secretaries'' is not updated - link).

The other government parties:

The only resigned minister who continued in government was the above-mentioned Nikolai Astrup, who was given the newly created position as Minister of Digitalisation.
There was also created a new position of Minister of Public Security for The Progress Party, which was given to a state secretary at The Ministry of Petroleum and Energy, Ingvil Smines Tybring‐Gjedde.

This two appointments/creation of ministers were only done because The Conservative Party and The Progress Party weren't too happy to let go of some of their ministerial positions, which means we now have a government with 22 ministers, more than ever before.

Hmm, was there anything else? Yes, let's go back to the three ministerial positions now being held by The Christian Democratic Party, because they were offered one of the most "heavy" posts in the government, at least in terms of media visibility. I.e. The Minister of Health and Care Services, which is now with The Conservative Party, while The Progress Party has The Minister for the Elderly and Public Health in the same ministry. But that had meant that they would have had to sacrifice one of the three positions that they demanded (and which they got) and then the ''ownership'' (as they said it) to one of their most important policies, either it had been children/families and religion (the political topics that matter most to them); agriculture and food (VERY important to them, and something they have constantly been clashing with The Progress Party about); and international development (also very important to them, and which has led to more than one confrontation with The Progress Party).
And when you think about it, the Minister of Health does nothing but responding to criticism anyway, so a good decision IMO.
 
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